RST at the NW200

The North West 200 is an event that holds a prominent position in the road racing calendar, and is considered a "tent-pole" occasion every year. The racing meet not only serves as a major event in itself, but also acts as the annual precursor to the highly anticipated IOM TT.

Needless to say, it is a significant occasion for all racing enthusiasts and attracts a vast audience (both in-person at the event and via its annual television coverage).

As expected, this year's North West 200 did not disappoint, and once again, the audience was treated to some exhilarating wheel-to-wheel battles. The official race action took place on Thursday evening and throughout Saturday, with some remarkable performances on display.

Thursday Races

Glenn Irwin, claimed victory in the first race of the event: the Briggs Equipment Superbike Race - finishing 2.5 seconds ahead of Davey Todd who was a further 14 seconds clear of road racing legend Michael Dunlop.

Irwin is a recent signing for RST - if you would like to find out more about Glenn you can take a look at his rider page here.

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The 2nd race on Thursday evening was the first supersport race: the Fraser Homes Supersport Race. RST factory rider Richard Cooper headed into the race as the pre-race favourite, and delivered the win on-board his Yamaha R7.

Coopes was joined on the podium by Peter Hickman and Michael Dunlop, who were separated by just .3 of a second.

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Thursday evening wrapped up with the first superstock race of the weekend, with Davey Todd riding his BMW S1000RR to victory, this was particularly impressive due to the 7-second winning margin, combined with the fact that Todd had been wiped out in a crash in the earlier Supersport race, and had sustained a hand injury.

Dean Harrison and Michael Dunlop (his third 3rd place of the evening), completed the podium.

Saturday Races

Saturday is always hectic at the North West every year - 6 races in one day is always going to a busy one!

Up first was the Milltown Service Station Supertwin Race, RST was well represented with the participation of Richard Cooper and Mike Browne. As with the Supersport class: Coopes started the race as the favourite.

However, practice and qualifying had shown that Peter Hickman was looking very strong on his Swan Racing Yamaha - and once the race got underway, it was clear that Cooper wouldn't be having things all his own way.

The race ended with a thrilling battle between the two, with Hickman taking the victory by less than half-a-second.

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The days remaining races saw Hicky take another supertwin victory, Davey Todd take back-to-back victories in the supersport and superstock classes, while Glenn Irwin took victory in both of the Superbike races.

This superbike treble took Glenn to 11 superbike victories in his career, making him the most successful superbike rider in the history of the NW200.

Overall, it was another great year for the NW200 - fantastic weather, huge crowds and great racing. It was the perfect way to kick-start the road racing season - and truly wets the appetite for the Isle of Man TT in June.

Congratulations to all RST riders involved and we look forward to seeing how they all get on at the TT.

#TeamRST

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You can take a look at the full NW200 timings & results on the official website below;